With all eyes on them as the current team to beat in the SEC, Auburn knows they will get every team's best effort, whether they play in front of the raucous Auburn Arena or on the road in hostile environments.
Saturday's game vs. Georgia was a perfect example of that, especially the first few minutes of the game.
With an earlier 11 a.m. tip-off scheduled due to approaching thunderstorms, the Tigers found themselves in a lull at the beginning of the game before finally taking off and cruising to a victory over the Bulldogs.
Here are some takeaways from Auburn's 82-60 victory over Georgia:
Sluggish start by Auburn: The Tigers started off the game shooting well below 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from three-point range. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs capitalized on the poor shooting performance by knocking down their shots to take an early 14-6 lead.
Things picked up for Auburn in the later stages of the half, and they were able to string together a 12-2 run to take their first lead of the game. An even more impressive 17-1 run, sparked by the play of Allen Flanigan and Samir Doughty, gave the Tigers a double-digit lead at half. After starting off the game with plenty of momentum, Georgia was stymied by the Auburn defense and the Bulldogs were held scoreless the last 6:31 of the first half.
Georgia freshman Anthony Edwards, highly regarded as a lottery pick in this year's NBA Draft, was not much of a factor in the first half, as he was only 1-5 from the field and had three points total.
Tigers pounce on Bulldogs in the second half: Auburn found their shooting stroke in the second half, and were much more aggressive. The Tigers wound up with 44 points inside the paint, and also continued to have key members off the bench provide offense, such as Anfernee McLemore and Flanigan.
The Tigers shot 57 percent in the second half, and 53 percent overall in the game.
Despite having a poor first half, Edwards continued to attack the Tigers and finished with 18 points, but it was too little too late, as Auburn had already increased their lead and made the game well out of hand.
Currently one of two undefeated teams left in the country, Auburn will take their show on the road to Tuscaloosa Wednesday and look to continue to build off of this impressive performance.
